Gulshan Kumar
Encyclopedia
Gulshan Kumar (5 May 1956 - 12 August 1997) was the founder of the T-Series music label (Super Cassettes Industries Ltd.
), the best known in India, and an India
n Bollywood
movie producer. T series is now run by his son Bhushan Kumar
. His daughter Tulsi Kumar
is a playback singer.
Arora
family, he was the son of Chandrabhan, a fruit juice seller in Darya Ganj market in Delhi
, where he started working early on. Later Gulshan changed career paths when his family acquired a shop selling records and cheap audio cassettes, this was the beginning of what was to become a vast music empire.
He founded Super Cassettes Industries
, a small audio cassette operation which soon grew to be very big. Later he started a music production company in Noida, near Delhi. He is said to have started the practice of exploiting a loophole in the Indian copyright law, and creating cover versions of popular songs.
To counter relatively expensive audio tapes which used to be marketed by reputed music companies, Gulshan brought out in the late 1970s very cheaply made and low priced music cassettes. He exported quality music cassettes when his business grew.
Gulshan also introduced religious music cassettes at highly subsidized prices.
The Indian music industry used to be controlled by a few high-profiled singers. Gulshan introduced young talented singers to the music world, Sonu Nigam
, Anuradha Paudwal
, Vandana Bajpai and Kumar Sanu
being the prominent ones among them. He also introduced some new actors and music directors.
Gulshan established a bhandara, serving free home style food to pilgrims who hiked to the Hindu
shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi
.
. The police accused Nadeem of the music duo Nadeem-Shravan
of having paid for the assassination. However, on 9 January 2001, Abdul Rauf (known as "Raja") confessed to being the assassin. On 29 April 2002, Sessions Judge M L Tahilyani sentenced Rauf to life imprisonment, stating that he was not imposing death penalty because the prosecution had failed to prove that Rauf was a contract killer. As per his families wishes, Gulshan Kumar was cremated in Delhi
Prior to his assassination Gulshan Kumar had refused to succumb to the extortion demands of the Mumbai Underworld, which was a fixture in the financing of Bollywood movies, and shortly before his assassination producer, Mukesh Duggal was also murdered by armed assassins. Mainly it was religion which had been the bone of contention as well as the political backing he enjoyed.
It is the largest producer and publisher of music and videos in India. It has published original soundtrack from the movies, remixes, old devotional bhajans, new-age, melodies from the 60's, pop hits of 90's etc.
Today T-Series controls more than 60% share of the Indian music market. In the international markets T-Series enjoys a turnover in excess of $4.2 million, and exports to 24 countries across six continents. In India it has the largest distribution network of over 2500 dealers.
Super Cassettes Industries
Super Cassettes Industries Limited , is a music company of India. It owns the music label T-Series It is also a film production and distribution company. It later ventured into other consumer products.-History:...
), the best known in India, and an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
movie producer. T series is now run by his son Bhushan Kumar
Bhushan Kumar
Bhushan Kumar is an Indian film producer. He has produced films such as Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Karzzzz. Currently Bhushan Kumar is the Chairman & Managing Director of famous music company which owns the music label T-Series....
. His daughter Tulsi Kumar
Tulsi Kumar
Tulsi Kumar is an Indian playback singer for Bollywood films.-Early life:Tulsi Kumar is the daughter of the late Gulshan Kumar and the sister of Indian film producer Bhushan Kumar.-Music career:...
is a playback singer.
Biography
Born Gulshan Dua into a PunjabiPunjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
Arora
Arora
Arora is an Indo-Aryan community of the Punjab region. Commentators differ in their opinions regarding the relationship between the Arora and the Khatri community....
family, he was the son of Chandrabhan, a fruit juice seller in Darya Ganj market in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, where he started working early on. Later Gulshan changed career paths when his family acquired a shop selling records and cheap audio cassettes, this was the beginning of what was to become a vast music empire.
He founded Super Cassettes Industries
Super Cassettes Industries
Super Cassettes Industries Limited , is a music company of India. It owns the music label T-Series It is also a film production and distribution company. It later ventured into other consumer products.-History:...
, a small audio cassette operation which soon grew to be very big. Later he started a music production company in Noida, near Delhi. He is said to have started the practice of exploiting a loophole in the Indian copyright law, and creating cover versions of popular songs.
To counter relatively expensive audio tapes which used to be marketed by reputed music companies, Gulshan brought out in the late 1970s very cheaply made and low priced music cassettes. He exported quality music cassettes when his business grew.
Gulshan also introduced religious music cassettes at highly subsidized prices.
The Indian music industry used to be controlled by a few high-profiled singers. Gulshan introduced young talented singers to the music world, Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam is an Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured in numerous Hindi movies, as well as films in Assamese, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada language. He has also released numerous Indi-pop albums and acted in a few Hindi feature films...
, Anuradha Paudwal
Anuradha Paudwal
Anuradha Paudwal is a popular playback singer in Bollywood in India.She has sung songs in Hindi, Marathi and Nepali.- Biography :She studied at Xavier's College in Mumbai. She was married to the late Arun Paudwal, who worked with music director S. D. Burman as his assistant...
, Vandana Bajpai and Kumar Sanu
Kumar Sanu
Kumar Sanu Kumar Sanu Kumar Sanu (alias Kedarnath Bhattacharya , born in Kolkata, is a leading Indian Bollywood playback singer. He was awarded the Filmfare Best Male Playback Award over five consecutive years. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2009....
being the prominent ones among them. He also introduced some new actors and music directors.
Gulshan established a bhandara, serving free home style food to pilgrims who hiked to the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi
Vaishno Devi
Vaishno Devi Mandir is one of the holy Hindu temples dedicated to Shakti, located in the hills of Vaishno Devi, Jammu and Kashmir, India. In Hinduism, Vaishno Devi, also known as Mata Rani and Vaishnavi, is a manifestation of the Mother Goddess.The temple is near the town of Katra, in the Reasi...
.
Assassination
On 12 August 1997, he was killed outside the Jeeteshwar Mahadev Mandir, a Hindu temple in Jeet Nagar, Andheri West suburb of MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. The police accused Nadeem of the music duo Nadeem-Shravan
Nadeem-Shravan
Nadeem-Shravan was a music director duo in the Bollywood film industry of India. The duo derives its name from the first names of its two principals, Nadeem Saifi and Shravan Rathod....
of having paid for the assassination. However, on 9 January 2001, Abdul Rauf (known as "Raja") confessed to being the assassin. On 29 April 2002, Sessions Judge M L Tahilyani sentenced Rauf to life imprisonment, stating that he was not imposing death penalty because the prosecution had failed to prove that Rauf was a contract killer. As per his families wishes, Gulshan Kumar was cremated in Delhi
Prior to his assassination Gulshan Kumar had refused to succumb to the extortion demands of the Mumbai Underworld, which was a fixture in the financing of Bollywood movies, and shortly before his assassination producer, Mukesh Duggal was also murdered by armed assassins. Mainly it was religion which had been the bone of contention as well as the political backing he enjoyed.
Chronology of events
- 21 September 1999 : hearing an extradition case filed by the government of India against Nadeem, bow street magistrate in London rules that there is prima facie case against Nadeem and recommends his extradition
- 21 December 2000 : The London high court rejects the government of India's plea to extradite Nadeem. he is discharged from the case. the court also passes strictures against the police, saying the evidence is tainted. Shafi Ahmed is the first accused to be discharged in the case. Prosecution concedes there is no evidence against him.
- 30 April 2001 : charges are framed against 17 accused. one of the accused Pratap Singh Shaukin is discharged due to lack of evidence. Shaukin was accused of helping the killers escape. He allegedly took them from Mumbra in nearby Thane to Nasik in his tempo.
- 18 June 2001 : Trial begins. Ramchandra Lavangare, an eyewitness, identifies the alleged assassins — Abdul Rashid Daud and Abdul Rauf Daud MERCHANT — in the court.
- 20 June 2001 : Another eye witness Sahibrao Fuke identifies the alleged killers in the court of Justice M.L. Tahilyani.
- 27 June 2001 : Keki Balsara, key to the prosecution's case against Nadeem, is found dead in the washroom of the city police headquarters.
- 8 January 2002 : Approver Mohammed Ali Shaikh refuses to identify the alleged killers in court. he says he did not know Nadeem. He is declared hostile, and pardon granted to him is withdrawn.
- 10 January 2002 : ten of the accused are granted bail after prosecution says it would not produce any new evidence against them.
- 16 April 2002 : prosecution accepts there is no evidence against 15 of the 19 people accused in the case.
- 23 April 2002 : the sessions court rejects the conspiracy charge leveled by the prosecution against the accused.
- 24 April 2002 : 18 of the 19 accused are acquitted. one is found guilty.
T-Series Music label
During the life of Gulshan Kumar, T-Series emerged as one of the top music label in India. It continues to be a major label.It is the largest producer and publisher of music and videos in India. It has published original soundtrack from the movies, remixes, old devotional bhajans, new-age, melodies from the 60's, pop hits of 90's etc.
Today T-Series controls more than 60% share of the Indian music market. In the international markets T-Series enjoys a turnover in excess of $4.2 million, and exports to 24 countries across six continents. In India it has the largest distribution network of over 2500 dealers.
Movie Production
- Papa - The Great (2000)
- Char Dham (1998)
- Jai Maa Vaishanav Devi (1995)
- Bewafa Sanam (1995)
- ShabnamShabnamShabnam from the word meaning dew drops on the flowers) is a Pakistani stage and film actress of Pakistan. Shabnam was active in the Pakistani film industry, Lollywood in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and in the Bangladeshi film industry in the 1990s...
(1993) - Kasam Teri Kasam (1993)
- Aaja Meri Jaan (1993)
- Jeena Marna Tere Sang (1992)
- Meera Ka Mohan (1992)
- Shiv Mahima (1992)
- Sangeet (1992)
- Dil Hai Ke Manta NahinDil Hai Ke Manta NahinDil Hai Ke Manta Nahin is a Bollywood film released in 1991. It was produced by Gulshan Kumar, directed by Mahesh Bhatt, and starred his daughter Pooja Bhatt in the lead female role. The lead male role was played by Aamir Khan. Anupam Kher, Sameer Chitre, Tiku Talsania, and Deepak Tijori played...
(1991) - Aye Milan Ki Raat (1991)
- Jeena Teri Gali Mein (1991)
- AashiquiAashiquiAashiqui is a 1990 Bollywood romance film, particularly noted for its music. The film made the careers of Kumar Sanu, Anuradha Paudwal and Nadeem-Shravan. It was released on 23 July 1990.-Plot:...
(1990) - Bahar Aane Tak (1990)
- Velu Nayakan (1990)
- Appu Raja (1990)
- Laal Dupatta Malmal ka (1989)
As Presenter
- A Love Issshtory (2010)
- Kajraare (2010)
- Humko Deewana Kar Gaye (2006)
- Lucky (2005)
- Muskaan (2003)
- Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai (2003)
- Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin (1991)
- Aashiqui (1990)
As Producer
- Papa The Great (2000)
- Char Dham (1998)
- Suryaputra Shanidev (1997)
- Chal Kanvaria Shiv Ke Dham (1996)
- Bewafa Sanam (1995)
- Jai Maa Vaishnav Devi (1995)
- Satyanarayan Ki Virat Katha (A.T.N.) (1995)
- Shabnam (1995)
- Suryaputra Shanidev (1995)
- Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin (1991)
- Aashiqui (1990)
- Bahar Aane Tak (1990)
External links
- The Gulshan Kumar Murder Homepage at Rediff.comRediff.comRediff.com India is a news, information, entertainment, and shopping portal. It was founded in 1996 as "Rediff On The NeT" and is headquartered in Mumbai, India with offices in New Delhi and New York City, USA....
.